The son of Harry and Mary Alice, Gordon lived his entire life in Wythenshawe, Manchester. As a child he lived on Altrincham Road, spending many hours playing in Wythenshawe Park. He attended Royal Oak Primary and Chorlton Grammar schools. He qualified as a plumber after the war. Between 1951 and 1953 he did his National Service in the Royal Engineers holding the rank of Lance-Corporal. In 1954 he met Joan Cliff at a dance hall in Northenden and they were married on January 22nd 1955 at St. Lukes in Benchill, Wythenshawe. Their first house was 216 Wythenshawe Road where the first three of their four children were brought up. In 1964 they moved to 2 Nan Nook Road where they stayed until 1987 when they moved in with Joan's widowed mother Elsie at 25 Cherry Tree Road. Here they stayed until Gordon's death in 2012. During this time Gordon become a grandfather ten times over and a great-grandfather (in 2010). He suffered a heart attack in 1998, which he survived after a quadruple bypass, allowing him an extra 14 years of life.